Posts by Cold Steel

20

If anyone claimed that god speaks to them personally.....

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

they'd be viewed as completely mentally ill and laughed at.. so, how do the governing body get away with it?.

Cold Steel

OnTheWayOut » We are supposed to believe that the Governing Body members are guided by spirit even though they won't say it. We aren't even supposed to know about the 2/3rds majority thing because that would help to shatter our illusions.

Well, they certainly imply it. Here's an example from 1964:

"The brother went down to get the mail before breakfast, and when we had breakfast he said, 'Brother Riemer, I got a new Watchtower this morning, and do you know the first thing that Ma and I do when we get that Tower? We kneel down before we take the wrapper off and ask Jehovah to make us worthy to see what the message is that Jehovah has for us. Now, before we take the wrapper off, will you kneel down and pray with us?' How different that elective elder was from this humble couple who appreciated Jehovah's organization." (Watchtower, Sept. 15, 1964, p 574)

The Governing Body wants it both ways. The members have to live with themselves and they have to rationalize their paychecks. Everything they write, claim, teach, peach, exhort and proclaim is based on based on assumptions. There are no angels, voices, theophanies, visions or manifestations. Everything's invisible and manmade. The organization is registered legally and on paper. Christ's choosing the Society in 1918 was an assumption and was not conveyed in the manner God has employed for some six thousand years (see Amos 3:7). Then there are all those warnings about false prophets. That's got to grate on them from time to time. Even the GB members have to be subject to cognitive dissonance like everyone else.

44

Why Do People Become Jehovah's Witnesses?

by minimus in

jw
friends

besides being raised in the religion , why do people become jws?

.

Cold Steel

People become Jehovah's Witnesses, I think, because they want to be a part of what the ancient Christians had. Many wonder why God no longer speaks to mankind as He did anciently. They see the religious world in turmoil and strife and each group has its own beliefs. They want to find truth, and the WTBTS promises them the TRUTH in a world where few have it. It also offers them exclusivity. In a world where everyone else is wrong, they belong to the small minority who's right. And when the Lord comes, He will save them to the exclusion of everyone else. (I don't think many people would become JWs for that reason -- because they want to see everyone else destroyed -- but they do want to be on the winning team.)

But the primary thing I think they're looking for is that they want the truth. And once they accept the the JW message, it encloses them like a Venus Fly Trap. Suddenly you're restricted in what you can read and you can't visit other churches or listen to their religious messages. They take up your free time and you're under observation much of the time. And after a few years they can pretty much run your life for noncompliance.

53

The Real Reason why the WT predicted Armageddon in 1975

by OrphanCrow in

i am of the opinion that the wt doctrine is influenced more by external factors that it is by internal ones.

one of the doctrines that has puzzled me for some time is the armageddon prediction of 1975. why would the wts make this prediction?

what was their real purpose?.

Cold Steel

What if Armageddon happened in 1975 but was invisible?

4

Tribulation, Hardship and Jehovah: Will He Manifest Himself?

by Cold Steel in

what are the expectations of jws regarding future tribulation and "the church"?

do they expect that at some point yahweh will manifest himself to the faithful and discreet slave to bring about the temporal salvation of his people?

and if a member of the gb claimed to hear from jehovah in some way, like an angel, light or voice, how would the general membership react to the news?

Cold Steel

Fascinating stuff, Listener.

In 1964 the Watchtower repoted:

As Jehovah revealed his truths by means of the first-century Christian congregation so he does today by means of the present-day Christian congregation. Through this agency he is having carried out prophesying on an intensified and unparalleled scale. All this activity is not an accident. Jehovah is the one behind all of it. The abundance of spiritual food and the amazing details of Jehovah's purposes that have been revealed to Jehovah's anointed witnesses are clear evidence that they are the ones mentioned by Jesus when he foretold a 'faithful and discreet slave' class that would be used to dispense God's progressive revelations in these last days.(Watchtower, June 15, 1964, p. 365)

In 1919, the Society teaches, Jehovah chose them as his earthly organization. Of course this begs the question of how it was made known to them. Anciently such things came through apostles who received it through revelation. If God never changes but is the same yesterday, today and forever, shouldn't the way he communicates be the same? In the quote above, we see that God would use the "faithful and discreet slave class...to dispense God's progressive revelations in these last days."

Yet elsewhere the Society stresses it does not receive revelation as the apostles did. Adding to the word of God seems to be repugnant to them, but the early Christians were strangers to the concept of a closed canon. They were not opposed to adding to the word of God, but only to adding to the words of certain books. Progressive revelations from God constituted new scripture. Yet even though the Society once went so far as to proclaim Jehovah as the Editor of the Watchtower, and the articles the messages of Jehovah to his people, it stops short of declaring the "progressive revelations" of the "last days" to be scripture.

So how can this be? Isn't it true that the GB considers itself to be a collective prophet?

Here again is what the Watchtower says:

In ancient times he sent prophets as his special messengers. While these men foretold things to come, they also served the people by telling them of God's will for them at that time, often also warning them of dangers and calamities. People today can view the creative works. They have at hand the Bible, but it is little read or understood. so, does Jehovah have a prophet to help them, to warn them of dangers and to declare things to come? ... These questions can be answered in the affirmative. Who is this prophet? ... This 'prophet' was not one man, but was a body of men and women. it was the small group of footstep followers of Jesus Christ, known at that time as international bible students. today they are known as Jehovah's Christian witnesses. (Watchtower April 1, 1972 p. 197)

I guess new light reveals the small group to be the GB.

.

16

I've been in love with a Jehovah Witness without knowing it for a long time, he hid it from everyone.

by sakurafeathers in

hello :) so i know this guy for almost 6 years, i met him when i was 15 and i felt in love.

now i’m 21 and he is 22. we were in the same class and got along very well and he seemed to like me too.

when i confessed, face to face he haven't admitted and he haven't denied it and he acted like he liked me too but couldn't be with me because reasons bigger than him, but i was too young to understand and he was young to handle the pressure he had.

Cold Steel

I know it's difficult to grasp, but the person you are at this young age is not the person you'll be in five years. The truth is, you don't know what you want. You get involved with a guy now and you'll never develop the independence you need to develop to become the person you otherwise will be. You'll simply be someone with "baggage." You need your youth and education to become the person you want to be. In seven years you don't want to be one of those women who say, "Yeah, I was young and stupid...I let my emotions and immaturity get the best of me." Instead of having a decent job, you'll be divorced and be a single mom working a waitress somewhere. Not only are you going to change, he's going to change. He may or may not be a JW, but you'd be betting your future on things beyond the control of either of you.

Seek some counseling. Don't avoid it because you fear what you'll hear. You're at a pivotal part of your life.

76

Visit From Jehovah's Witnesses

by Vanderhoven7 in

had two lovely jws (stephen and ruth) visit this morning.

this was our second study in the last 2 weeks.

they first knocked on my door (bell is out) 3 weeks ago and i shared my testimony and we arranged to meet last tuesday which we did.. our first study went like this:.

Cold Steel

Oh, it's biblical. You get 1914 by subtracting 2,520 prophetic years from the time Jerusalem fell in 607 BC. Easy, right? Well, how do we know Jerusalem fell in 607 BC? Because if you add 2,520 years to 607 BC, you get 1914!

Scary, right?

Fits just like a jigsaw puzzle! What greater evidence do you want?

50

Huge story unfolding at Warwick

by Crazyguy in

its been mentioned before that warwick is a toxic dump and now the jw's are suing a former owner for compensation.

well this is huge on so many levels.

one they new it was contaminated back a few years ago so why move your headquarters there?

Cold Steel

Yes, is it not written: "But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods...then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this [new] temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, 'Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?'" (2 Chron. 7)

4

Tribulation, Hardship and Jehovah: Will He Manifest Himself?

by Cold Steel in

what are the expectations of jws regarding future tribulation and "the church"?

do they expect that at some point yahweh will manifest himself to the faithful and discreet slave to bring about the temporal salvation of his people?

and if a member of the gb claimed to hear from jehovah in some way, like an angel, light or voice, how would the general membership react to the news?

Cold Steel

What are the expectations of JWs regarding future tribulation and "the Church"? Do they expect that at some point Yahweh will manifest himself to the Faithful and Discreet Slave to bring about the temporal salvation of his people? And if a member of the GB claimed to hear from Jehovah in some way, like an angel, light or voice, how would the general membership react to the news?

Would they be suspicious, skeptical, exuberant?

The GB members speak with authority, freely giving instruction as though they'd just finished speaking with the Almighty. I don't know if they're good or bad people, but what do the people at Bethel think? Do they rave about how great these men are? Do they feel honored to sit at the feet of the Slave? And do they feel they're being led by the Holy Spirit?

44

What are the chances of having a one on one with GB member

by Chook in

jesus drifted amongst the lowly folk .

Cold Steel

Certainly they must walk the halls of Bethel, do occasional shopping, go to Home Depot or get out and do chores like everyone else. If you know what they look like and are respectful, they should feel no qualms about shaking hands and chatting a few moments, right? Living in a Washington, D.C., suberb, I've seen Sandra Day O'Connor, Al Gore and many other notables. I've seen actors, well known journalists and a friend of mine went in to pick up a pizza some years ago and a little old man in very casual clothes walked in and was waiting behind him in line. He nodded at the man, who nodded back politely and then recognized him as Admiral Hyman Rickover. It happens so often that I've lost count.

I respect their privacy and have never intruded, but I could have if I'd chosen to. And were I a JW, I'd feel comfortable saying hello if I ran into a GB member. (After all, I help pay his salary, right, or I would if I were a member of the Kingdom.)

29

Jehovah`s Witnesses Boasted They have No Clergy Laity Class ?

by smiddy in

jw
friends

well that`s what was impressed on me to differentiate between the true religion and false religion , when i was converted in 1960 , do they still claim that ?

believing that they still do , i will say this.. what about ,:the governing body who definitely are set apart from the rank and file for their attitude towards the r&f , but also from the attitude of the r&f towards the governing body members.many do seem to idolise gb members by their actions , and the gb members dont seem to discourage that.. and not only for their attitude , how about their life-style , being housed in bethel with all the mod -cons of modern civilization as opposed to a r&f member living in a third world country .does the wt society do anything to make their lifestyle improve ?

{ did jesus have a place to rest his head ?

Cold Steel

The greatest problem the Society has isn't in the organization, but in the fact that it has no ministerial authority. When Jesus lived, the Jews repeatedly asked him about his authority. It wasn't a baseless question because no man takes the honor of acting in God's name except he who is called of God as was Aaron, the brother of Moses.

The Society did just that. It simply assumed the sealing keys that were given to Peter and announced to the world that Jesus had chosen them, in 1919, I think, without any word of God being received by God. There have been no angelic manifestations, no theophanies, no visions. The heavens have been closed to the GB, and yet they have taken the authority unto themselves and set themselves up as representing God. But how did they get it? Who ordained them?

No one in the Society has ever explained that.